Ingram Micro resellers get insight into vertical market segments

Ingram Micro introduced new resources for pursuing security opportunities within vertical market segments; other channel news from the week.

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Spencer Smith and John Moore

Published: 17 Mar 2017

Ingram Micro Inc. has built out its resources for channel partners to learn about vertical market opportunities.

The distributor this week introduced four new Technology Solution Blueprints to its Vertical Expo Live virtual learning platform. Free to download for Ingram Micro resellers, the e-blueprints focus on building network and security practices within the education, healthcare, legal and finance, and retail vertical market segments.

"For a number of years, resellers ... had been asking ... for a one-stop shop for all things vertical," said Tom Blankenhorn, senior director of vertical markets and vendor management at Ingram Micro, based in Irvine, Calif. "We created [Vertical Expo Live] to showcase everything we know about vertical markets."

Ingram Micro launched Vertical Expo Live in October 2016. The website provides information about vertical market drivers, trends and technology needs, as well as sales and marketing content and collateral.

Blankenhorn noted the e-blueprints target Ingram Micro resellers that are investing in, or have developed practices in, a particular technology category, such as networking and security, and want to pursue vertical market segments. In addition to the new Security Blueprints, Vertical Live Expo offers Mobility Blueprints and will release a blueprint series on cloud computing next month at the Ingram Micro Cloud Summit.

Ingram Micro currently has more than 2,200 partners on the Vertical Expo Live website, he said.

Accenture, Docker expand partnership

Accenture and Docker expanded their alliance, focusing on tools and best practices that aim to help enterprise customers adopt and manage container technology.

Under the partnership, Accenture now provides container services within its Accenture Cloud Factory, a cloud migration center that combines specialized personnel, automated tools and agile infrastructure. The Cloud Factory's container services emphasize the container enablement of applications. The services make use of Docker Datacenter, Enterprise Edition -- Standard. Docker Datacenter is a container management platform.

Accenture and Docker are also collaborating on tool development as part of the alliance. Those tools include "migration accelerators" that provide blueprints and tool sets for containerizing different types of commercial and custom applications, noted Adam Burden, senior managing director of advanced technology and architecture at Accenture. He said work is underway on a migration accelerator for SAP, for example.

Burden said enterprise interest in containers is higher than last year, adding that a growing use for containers is in cloud-native application development projects. He said containers have become a common development mechanism for such greenfield cloud applications.

He suggested the fastest-growing area for containers is customers using the technology to help facilitate their journey to the cloud. In that scenario, enterprises containerize commercial and custom applications, and then move them to a private or public cloud platform. He said he anticipates growing customer demand in a third area: enterprises that want to decompose legacy applications into containers and expose them as microservices.

"We believe there will be a lot of demand coming from that space," Burden said.

With regard to industry adoption, Burden said he has seen a general increase in container interest across a range of client groups. Industries especially active in containers include Accenture's communications, media and technology area, high-tech goods and electronics, in particular. In financial services, capital markets and retail banking customers are "reimagining the digital experience their customers will have, and containers are a key component of that," Burden noted.

In addition, the travel and transportation sector, including railroads and cruise lines, are exploring container technology. In one project, Finnish Railways is using the Accenture Cloud Factory and Docker Datacenter to containerize components of a core business application. Those containerized elements are being deployed to a containers-as-a-service offering in the Amazon Web Services cloud.

Pulseway, a remote monitoring and management (RMM) provider, launched a network operations center service. The NOC service lets managed services providers (MSPs) offer their clients 24/7 monitoring and management coverage, according to the company. Pulseway offers two service levels: The entry-level service offers monitoring, while in the advanced service, Pulseway provides engineers to remediate alarms. The advanced service also offers access to a technical service desk.

Green House Data, a data center service provider, has been added to the partner roster at Console Connect, a provider of global direct connect offerings. The alliance lets Green House Data customers use Console Connect's platform to "extend private network connections to cloud providers, SaaS [software-as-a-service] services and other enterprises," according to Console Connect. Green House Data partners with VARs and MSPs.

Chorus Communications, a technology consulting firm and master agent, has entered a partnership with OnSIP, a unified-communications-as-a-service provider. Through the alliance, the companies will offer voice, video and messaging services nationwide through their network of agents.

Barracuda Networks Inc. unveiled a backup offering for MSPs supporting VMware and Microsoft Hyper-V environments. The company said Barracuda Backup LiveBoot 2.0 is included in Barracuda Backup -- Intronis MSP Edition. MSPs using LiveBoot 2.0 to back up VMware vSphere and Hyper-V deployments have the option to use a Barracuda Backup appliance or the Barracuda Cloud, according to the company. Active MSP Edition subscribers can obtain LiveBoot 2.0 at no additional cost.

LookingGlass Cyber Solutions, a threat intelligence security company, introduced a partner portal for its Cyber Guardian Network partners. Using the portal, partners can access deal registration, marketing resources, and sales and technical enablement resources, the company said. Additionally, the portal offers a partner locator for customers.

Atera, an IT automation vendor, has appointed Sharon Peer as vice president of customer success. Peer will be responsible for the company's customer-support efforts. Atera, which sells to MSPs, offers an automation platform that combines RMM, professional services automation and remote access. Peer was previously vice president of customer support at SysAid Technologies, an IT service management provider.

Broadview Networks, a cloud-based unified communications and IT services company, hired four channel managers to support partners across the U.S. The new channel managers will offer local support, sales tools, knowledge and training, according to the vendor.

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